Schools in Dorset Council
158 state-funded schools, 47,319 pupils. 87.3% of those carrying an Ofsted grade are Good or Outstanding, including 5 rated Outstanding.
Ofsted Management Information, Feb 2026. Grades are the current published rating, which may pre-date the school’s most recent visit.
Ofsted grades
1 school has been inspected under Ofsted's post-September-2024 report-card framework, which replaces the single 1–4 grade with separate judgments. Those are excluded from the percentages above rather than mapped onto the old scale, because the two scales have no clean equivalence.
Quick answers
How many schools are there in Dorset Council?
Dorset Council has 158 state-funded schools teaching 47,319 pupils. 119 primary, 29 secondary, 6 special.
What percentage of schools in Dorset Council are Good or Outstanding?
87.3% of the 157 schools carrying an Ofsted grade in Dorset Council are rated Good or Outstanding: 5 Outstanding and 132 Good. 19 require improvement and 1 are rated Inadequate.
Which schools in Dorset Council are rated Outstanding?
5 schools are currently rated Outstanding by Ofsted in Dorset Council: Rushcombe First School, St Ives Primary & Nursery School, Westfield Arts College, Yewstock School, Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First School.
Rated Outstanding
Ofsted’s highest grade. Largest first; a grade can be several years old, so the year is shown.
- Rushcombe First SchoolPrimary314Outstanding 2022
- St Ives Primary & Nursery SchoolPrimary256Outstanding 2023
- Westfield Arts CollegeSpecial234Outstanding 2023
- Yewstock SchoolSpecial170Outstanding 2023
- Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First SchoolPrimary135Outstanding 2013
By phase
| Phase | Schools | Graded | Good or better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 119 | 118 | 86.4% |
| Secondary | 29 | 29 | 86.2% |
| Special | 6 | 6 | 100% |
| Alternative provision | 4 | 4 | 100% |
Every school in Dorset Council
Showing 20 of 158 schools.
| New framework | Links | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Thomas Hardye School | Secondary | 2,051 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Gillingham School | Secondary | 1,670 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Lytchett Minster School | Secondary | 1,590 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Gryphon School | Secondary | 1,555 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Budmouth Academy Weymouth | Secondary | 1,499 | Requires Improvement2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Queen Elizabeth's School | Secondary | 1,452 | Requires Improvement2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Ferndown Upper School | Secondary | 1,169 | Good2021 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Blandford School | Secondary | 1,135 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Purbeck School | Secondary | 1,028 | Good2014 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wey Valley Academy | Secondary | 996 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Woodroffe School | Secondary | 978 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Shaftesbury School | Secondary | 864 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Sir John Colfox Academy | Secondary | 792 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Atlantic Academy Portland | Secondary | 748 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Osmund's Church of England Middle School | Secondary | 717 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
All Saints' Church of England Academy | Secondary | 696 | Requires Improvement2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Beaminster School | Secondary | 679 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Sturminster Newton High School | Secondary | 617 | Good2015 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Ferndown Middle School | Secondary | 613 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill | Secondary | 583 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Schools are one input. Dorset Council’s pay, house prices, rent, council tax, crime and deprivation are on the Dorset Council profile, and the UK regions tool compares all 361 Local Authorities side by side.